Florida nonprofit Triumph Gulf Coast is today scheduled to consider a $76 million funding request tied to a proposed shipbuilding and advanced manufacturing campus at the Port of Pensacola, a project supporters say could generate about 2,000 high-wage jobs in Northwest Florida.
The city of Pensacola, which owns the port, submitted the application seeking Triumph support for what application documents describe as “a major expansion that will establish Project Maeve’s Southeastern Headquarters and a Tier 2 advanced ship manufacturing facility at the Port of Pensacola.” The company behind Project Maeve has not been publicly named.
The overall project investment is estimated at $275 million. That figure includes $105 million for building construction, $25 million for site preparation and port utility upgrades, and $145 million for equipment. The Triumph funding request would be limited to the construction portion.
According to the application, “Triumph funding will be used exclusively for hard construction costs associated with two new shipbuilding facilities at the Port of Pensacola.” Plans call for a two-phase buildout consisting of “a Phase 1 panel line and module fabrication warehouse and a Phase 2 assembly bay, together encompassing approximately 400,000 square feet of advanced ship manufacturing and office space.”
Under the proposed arrangement, the city would own the buildings and lease them on a long-term basis to the company. The application states this structure ensures “that the Triumph-funded improvements remain publicly owned assets that can support future maritime industrial tenants if needed.”
The Pensacola campus would focus on naval and defense-related work. As outlined in the proposal, “The new Maeve facilities will be capable of producing complex Navy ship modules for Tier 1 yards, submarine modules, and complete surface vessels up to 400 feet.”
Backers connect the project to broader federal efforts to expand U.S. shipbuilding and defense manufacturing capacity.
Workforce impact is a central component of the request. “As described by the applicant, Project Maeve represents a transformational opportunity to position the Port of Pensacola and Northwest Florida as a national hub for advanced shipbuilding, maritime technology, and defense-related manufacturing,” the application states.
Developers project the creation of “approximately 2,000 high-wage jobs over five years, including 1,437 advanced manufacturing positions and 563 engineering and administrative jobs.” Average annual wages are expected to top $80,000, or “roughly 140 percent of the current Escambia County average wage.”
Roughly three-quarters of the positions would be in skilled trades and advanced manufacturing, including electricians, machinists, and welders. The remaining roles would span engineering, naval architecture, logistics, project management, and corporate functions.
Triumph staff also evaluated the proposal based on projected job creation and wages.
“Using the applicant’s stated job creation commitment of 2,000 direct positions and a Triumph request of $76,000,000 for facilities construction, the cost to Triumph Gulf Coast is $38,000 per job,” the application states. “On this basis, Triumph’s investment will secure a large-scale, export-oriented manufacturing operation with wages above both regional and national averages while creating a permanent, publicly owned infrastructure asset at the Port of Pensacola.”
The review further projects “33.6 dollars of additional household income for every Triumph dollar expended, along with $2.55 billion in additional household incomes over the ten years of the job maintenance period.” Based on those estimates, “Triumph staff score this project as an ‘A.’”
